Bethany Theodore thought her freshman year with the Midland College women’s basketball team would be about getting some experience and learning from the sophomores on the team.

She’s definitely done that, but what she didn’t expect was to take on a bigger role as the team’s starting point guard thanks to season-ending knee injuries at the position to sophomore and Midland High grad Alexis Washington and fellow freshman Destiny Barfield.

Theodore has not only stepped up but has played well under the circumstances for the Lady Chaparrals (13-10, 6-4 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference) heading into tonight’s game against Odessa College (16-7, 4-4) at Chaparral Center.

“I’ve had to take that next step a little bit more,” said Theodore, a 5-foot-4 guard from Sunbury, Australia. “I think the biggest transition is having to be the one point guard. I’ve always been a backup. That puts a little bit of a pressure on me but it also helps me to try and make sure I’m playing a solid game. I can’t afford to have lapses in the game.”

MC coach Ron Jones said Theodore has gotten over knee and foot injuries herself in the last couple of weeks and has really showed what she can do. Theodore is averaging 30.3 minutes, 8.8 points and 3.3 assists per game this season.

“She’s moved a lot better, and I think that’s helped a lot,” Jones said. “She brings a lot of energy, playing a lot of minutes and doing a pretty good job for us.”

As for her taking on a bigger load because of the injuries, Jones said: “She’s handled it great. She likes it. She likes the responsibility, and she’s one of those kids who can play well tired and keeps going.”

Theodore said she didn’t really have to get used to the speed of the game like most players in their first year of playing college ball. Back home in Australia, she played in a league with older women, many of whom had already gone to college and some of them even had even played at the pro level.

“It was a good experience,” Theodore said.

When it came time to getting recruited, Theodore said she put together some online videos together, which were eventually seen by Jones and assistant coach Ginger Gatliff.

Theodore said she didn’t even know her fellow Australian teammates, Ella Tofaeono, a freshman forward from Sydney, and Bianca Thacker, a sophomore guard from Naime, before coming to MC. She said her best reference about the program came from former Lady Chap and current UTPB guard Kayla Bretherton, who had played with one of Theodore’s sisters.

Now Theodore and the rest of her teammates will look to beat Odessa College for the first time this year as the Lady Wranglers defeated the Lady Chaps once during the Midland College WNIT Classic in November and earlier in the WJCAC season in Odessa.

“The first time, we definitely could have beaten them,” Theodore said. “I think we’ve improved a lot since the last time we played them. I’m excited to see how we play, especially since it’s a home game.”

The Lady Chaps bring some momentum into this game as they have won the last two, including a 64-59 win at No. 18 Frank Phillips College on Thursday.

“It was good team week,” she said. “I think we played very well together. I think everyone did the extra little bit. I think we all gave 100 percent in each game. No matter how many minutes everyone is getting, everyone is doing what they need to do when they’re out there.”

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WOMEN

ODESSA COLLEGE AT MIDLAND COLLEGE

When/where: 5:45 p.m., Chaparral Center

Records: Midland College 13-10, 6-4 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference; Odessa College 16-7, 4-4

Notes & quotes: Midland College is coming off key road win at No. 18 Frank Phillips as Ella Tofaeono had a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Alexandrea Washington added 12 points, Bethany Theodore had 11 points and Matangiroa Flavell added 10 points and 11 rebounds. “I’m excited we got two big wins last week and we’re going to try to keep it going,” MC coach Ron Jones said. “Odessa has beaten us twice this year already. We’ve got to do something better and see if we can come out on top this time.” … Odessa College has been off for the past week but is also coming off a key win over FPC as Shannon Dozier had a game-high 21 points and Chinna Fair added 16 in the win for the Lady Wranglers. … OC defeated MC, 49-43, in Odessa on Jan. 11 and 42-39 on Nov. 17 during the Midland College WNIT Classic. “Probably the number one thing we need to improve on from the last game is that we turned it over way too much and gave up a lot of easy baskets,” Jones said. “If we do that again, we’ll make it very difficult on ourselves. But if we can correct that, I think that will increase our chance at being successful.”

Next: Western Texas College at Midland College, 5:45 p.m. Feb. 22; Western Texas College at Odessa College, 5:45 p.m. Thursday

2017-18 WJCAC women’s basketball standings

Conference Overall

W L W L

New Mexico JC 7 1 23 1

Frank Phillips 7 3 17 4

Midland College 6 4 13 10

Odessa College 4 4 16 7

Clarendon College 4 5 20 5

Western Texas 3 6 11 11

Howard College 4 6 14 12

South Plains 2 8 15 11

Thursday’s Scores

Midland College 64, Frank Phillips College 59; Clarendon College 76, Western Texas College 62; Howard College 63, South Plains College 56; Odessa College and New Mexico JC were open

Monday’s Games

Odessa College at Midland College; Clarendon College at Howard College; New Mexico JC at Western Texas College; Frank Phillips College and South Plains College are open